The Salina Journal from Salina, Kansas · Page 29

FRIDAY APRIL 13, 2001 THE SAUNA JOURNAL WHAT'S HOT / D2 WHAT'S GOING ON / D3 BRIEFLY / D4 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER Photos by Art Wolfe, from his book "TheLivingWm," Reprinted with permission. r '^^^mF" 5 •:;#«lSg5F «"^«C^^i if |pS %>:'^g,: Sumatran orangutan • Photographer Art Wolfe journeyed four times around the globe and to every continent, photographing In more than 40 nations. • He shot more than 7,000 rolls, amassing more than 250,000 slides. • Besides planes and vehicles, he and an assistant traveled by camel, kayak, ultralight aircraft, elephant and dugout canoe. Wolfe also learned to scuba dive to photograph marine animals that Included great white World region — TVoplcal sharks In South Africa. .Si;.;;. ' Booking Photographer Art Wolfe travels around the globe to examine the state of wildlife By DAVID CLOUSTON The Salina Journal Florida panther World region — Temperate Amazonlon poison frog World region — Subtropical The Living Wild By Art Wolfe Wlldlands Press 256 pages $55 Emperor penguin World region — Polar & Subpolar It was one of those nights every traveler dreads. Art Wolfe's stomach was doing flip-flops; he was feverish. Yet somewhere close by in the sweltering, humid jungle, he knew was the quarry he had traveled halfway around the world from his Seattle studio to Indonesia to photograph — a Sumatran orangutan, Wolfe's persistence paid off, rewarding him the next day with a chance encounter with an adolescent orangutan walking along a clear, shallow stream. Wolfe's image of the young orangutan striding through dappled sunlight is included in his newest hook, "The Living Wild." Wolfe spent three years photographing and writing to produce the book, which is devoted to fostering preservation of the fragile habitats of the planet, "I'm not trying to sugarqoat that everything's great, but there are a lot of ways we can surmount (environmental depredation)," Wolfe said recently in a telephone interview. "It's not just America that is recognizing the need for environmental protect tion; there's a lot going on in Third World nations as well. That's what we want this book to recognize and motivate." Kansans can hear Wolfe speak about his work during a tree, two- hour slide program April 28 Iri Hubbard Hall at Wichita State University. Great Plains Nature Photographers, a camera club that originated in Lindsborg, is helping sponsor the event. During his SO^year career, Wolfe's mastery has become as analogous to his craft as a Tiger Woods tee shot or a Pete Sampras ace, Wolfe has authored and iUustrated more than 40 books (nine more are In preparation), hundreds of magazine articles and has appeared on television. Galleries nationwide carry prints of his images. His honors include the 8000 Alfred Eisenstaedt Magazine Photography Award and the 1998 Rachel Carson Award from the National Audubon Society for his work in support of the national wildlife refuge system. Wildlife at the millennium Wolfe's idea for "The l^iving Wild" took shape about four years ago when be desired to publish a book that would show the state of wildlife around the globe at the millennium. The resiUt is a coffee-table book that this year wUl be in its third printing in four languages — English, German, French and Spanish — featuring 246 color pbo- tograpbs. 156 maps and essays f^om eminent authorities such as chimpanzee researcher Jane Goodall. The book divides the more than 140 animal species Into chapters sorted by ecosystems; Polar & Subpo­ lar. Island & Ocean, Desert & Steppe, Mountain, What: Program — 'The Living Wild," photography by Art Wolfe. When; 2 to 4 p.m. April 28 in Hqbbard Hall at Wichita State University. Cost: Free. Blue and yellow macaw. World region — "n -oplcal. Photographer Art Wolfe. Photo by Qavriel Jecan Temperate, Subtropical and Tropical, Wolfe, who took no salary for the project, self-published the book. Help with the massive production costs came from corporate sponsors. A portion of the book's proceeds are being donated to the Wildlife Conservation Society. Publishing "The Living Wild" took not just a large sum of cash, it took daunting amounts of energy and commitment by Wolfe, Consider; • Wolfe journeyed four times around the globe, photographing in more than 40 nations. • He shot more than 7,Oon rolls of film, amassing more than 250,000 slides. • Besides planes and vehicles, he and an assistant traveled by camel, kayak, ultralight aircraft, elephant and dugout canoe. Wolfe also learned to scuba dive to photograph marine animals, including great white sharks in South Africa. Wolfe brought back images of creatures both cuddly and fierce, ugly and majestic, ranging from the Florida panther, one of North America's rarest animals (less than 50 remain in the wild), to a California condor perched on the rim of a canyon, to a polar bear cub taking its first steps. "It's spectacular. It's the sort of book that a person with any peripheral interest in nature and wildlife will be blown away by," said Michelle Gilders, a longtime collaborator of Wolfe's and editor for "The Living Wild." "There's nothing to distract from the images, which is incredible." Gilders and Wolfe have another book coming out this fall about Africa. Protecting the world "The Living Wild" deliberately depicts a good number of large mammals and colorful birds, many of which are cuddling their young. "It's easier to get the public to respond to polar bears than tarantulas," Gilders said, "And the fact is, large mammals are often either top-level predators or they range over very large areas. So if you're protecting them, almost by default, you're protecting mole rats and species people don't get excited about." Gilders and other conservationists are focused on 25 biological "hot spots" around the globe where the greatest species diversity occurs. By protecting these areas, covering just I percent of the world's surface, biodiversity can be protected in many areas, she said. See WOLFE, Page D2 SUGGESTIONS? CALL ALAN 8TOLFU8, ENCORE! EDITOR, AT 823-6383 OR 1.800-827.8363 OR E-MAIL AT ejastolfus08aljournal.com